rudebwoy – Member
This bollocks about speaking english and collectivly switching to welsh on the appearance of a strange face is just that….. people switch easily between the languages, some older people will be more at ease in their native tongue–

Boblo– you are obviously a well balanced soul–chips on both shoulders…

Our experiences differ. I’ve spent a lot of time in North Wales and my Father is Welsh. As an English outsider, it is very common in pubs, shops etc for the conversation to move instantly from English to Welsh on my/our arrival. Many times, many different places. Coincidence? Hmmmm….

Had a minor Slaughtered Lamb experience in the pub next to the station. Luckily we were with a welsh speaker who ordered the drinks. At that point the conversations resumed. Hang about we did not.

Then had a curry down the road. Where they simultaneously shortchanged us after attempting to bill us for a few things we didn’t order.

The B&B it town centre was ok though, they had a lockup for bikes. On the minus side though it was opposite Spar, which seemed to be the place to be if you’re 13 and wanted to blaze up a few spliffs of an evening.

Didn’t strike me as tourist heaven, to be honest; just a fairly normal town that had some issues with employement. Like many towns.

Well, the bloody DH day at Antur Stiniog has been cancelled and drawn a blank looking for alternative digs somewhere nice. The B&B owners confirmed the bikes will be indoors so that’s a relief, and the B&B looks great (online anyway). A bloke at Antur tried to assure me there are decent pub options…who knows, it might be an amazing night! 😉

It’s not the Welsh speaking that gets to people it’s the sudden switch when you walk in,

This is the biggest pile of urban myth bollox ever spouted.

i have lived in north wales for over ten years and have never had this happen to me or seen it happen to anyone yet everyone that has ever ventured in for the odd holiday wheels out this corker of a tale 🙄

hey maybe it did happen mate but i reckon you might have got the wrong end of the stick.

Got no problem with Welsh speaking in Wales at all. The times it happened there was plenty of English being spoken when we were walking past and in then it just died away, coupled with the sort of stares that tell you your not very welcome. Seen similar in crappy run down towns all over the world really. Add in some of the welcome graffiti and it can be a place you just don’t want to stop in.

I have experienced said switching to (I love in north Wales but am English) both times it happened was 10-12 years ago, nothing since. Once when I was helping a friend clear there house in tanygrisau in BF and I went into post office/shop for some milk so we could have a brew. The women behind counter was talking to another women in shop, I heard them talking about dogs going to vets as I walked in but when they saw me got the famous arseholea to Englishman line and they continued in welsh for a few min before she took the money off me for the milk!!!
However, I have since been to BF on several occasions (just passing through and stoping for shop/drink/food at kebab place) and not had any such problems

Second time it happened was in Caernarfon, I had been walking for the day with 2 non welsh speaking, welsh mates. We decided to go for drink on way home and went in this place. It wasn’t busy but the language definitely switched as soon as we ordered. It had a very unwelcoming feel about the place, but that wasn’t soley down to the language thing, it did seem like a bit of a rough choice of pub, so after we drank our drinks we moved to another not far away and everything was fine!!!

However, on occasion I’ve entered an establishment in North Wales, seen the locals chatting merrily in English, then switch seamlessly to Welsh when they realise I’m there.

This is quite common. Most Welsh speakers speak a mixture of Welsh and English at most times, often switching between the two seamlessly and fluently. If it’s happened to you then it’s probably pure co-incidence, manifested in your mind because you’ve already heard all the urban myth’s. Walk into any local village pub anywhere in the UK as an outsider and you’ll likely get some unusual stares. People are interested, that’s all. Have you never sat in a pub or cafe yourself and people watched? Sometimes if you smile and say hello then you will realise that 99.9% of people are very friendly. Anyway if people start speaking Welsh then so what. If you feel that’s a threat then it’s your paranoia that is the problem, not them. Perhaps try and learn a few words of Welsh yourself and I’m sure the locals will appreciate it, or at the very least they’ll have a laugh over your bad pronounciation.